Planning a wedding can be a huge and often overwhelming endeavor. From venue to location to guest list, there is no shortage of decisions to be made and budgets to be crunched. Now, while all the stress of the wedding can’t be extracted magically, you can do some things to make sure your wedding is planned with as little stress as possible.

Don't get stressed out while planning a wedding.

Have a Plan… and Stick to It!

This one may seem obvious, but it’s important. Sit down with your fiance and discuss what each one of you wants out of the event, including where the ceremony and reception will be held, who is invited and how much you want to spend. Once you have a general idea of what you both want, then dive in, starting with the venue. Picking the venue first will help guide the rest of the decisions and budget.

Just be sure to stay on track and don’t forget to keep all your receipts, ideas, contracts, etc. In fact, there are a number of great apps to help keep you organized throughout the process.

Don’t Get Caught Up in All the Minor Details

While planning a wedding, it’s easy to focus on the small things: the shade of white for the table linens, if the coffee spoon goes to the left or right of the dessert spoon or whether to get Bud Light or Miller Lite. Let’s help you out: off-white and ivory are essentially the same thing when it comes to dining accessories; the placement coffee and dessert spoons don’t register with 99 percent of your guests; and you get neither light beers -- get good beer (sorry Uncle Rodney).

At the end of the event, no one is going to remember how many flowers were in the centerpiece or if one light bulb is out on the strand of lights encasing the bar. What they’re going to remember is the happiness and warmth of the night. So, keep that in mind while planning a wedding and don’t sweat the small stuff. If you can’t get past the white vs. ivory thing, then maybe think about hiring a wedding planner -- they’re pretty good at the little details.

Just Have Fun

Seriously… weddings are supposed to be fun! So why can’t wedding planning be the same? Set aside days when you hit the planning books like you’re cramming for a final exam, but also set aside days when you don’t do one second of wedding planning. Trust us, your sanity will thank you.

At the end of the day, it’s a celebration of love, not a photo shoot for Martha Stewart’s magazine. So kick back with your fiance and have some fun planning your wedding. You want horseshoes? Plan a horseshoe pit. You want to have an inter-family dance-off? Bust a move. It’s your day, so make it yours, not what everyone thinks it should be. You’ll be happy (and less stressed out) when it’s all said and done.